Author: Andres-Papazian

UNE SENATRICE AU SECOURS DE L’AZERBAIDJAN
Jean Eckian

armenews
vendredi18 juin 2010

Document extrait du site officiel du Senat de la page de la senatrice
Nathalie Goulet (Union centriste)

Le droit au retour des refugies du Haut Karabagh

“Monsieur le president, monsieur le secretaire d’Etat, mes chers
collègues, le Haut-Karabagh est un territoire azerbaïdjanais,
occupe par l’Armenie. Cette occupation a ete condamnee par plusieurs
resolutions du Conseil de securite des Nations unies, mais celles-ci
n’ont jamais ete appliquees.

Recemment, le representant francais au sein du groupe de Minsk,
charge du règlement du conflit entre l’Armenie et l’Azerbaïdjan,
s’est fait pieger par une traduction infidèle. Malgre des mises au
point et des denegations, la traduction tronquee a fait l’actualite,
devenant un fait mediatique avere, autant dire la verite, ce qui a tout
naturellement provoque une certaine incomprehension en Azerbaïdjan.

Vous connaissez, comme nous tous, monsieur le secretaire d’Etat,
les effets ravageurs de la rumeur…

Dans le meme temps, la diplomatie europeenne s’active pour que
l’Armenie et la Turquie règlent leur conflit historique.

Cette agitation diplomatique se fait, semble-t-il, sans que l’Armenie
soit amenee a respecter les resolutions des Nations unies, qui
l’enjoignent de restituer les territoires occupes du Haut-Karabagh,
et donc de facto au detriment de l’Azerbaïdjan, qui est un partenaire
economique et strategique important et stable pour la France.

Le President Sarkozy a recemment recu le President armenien a Paris.

Dans un Caucase si prompt a s’enflammer, où les troupes se massent
en application d’un vieux principe que nous connaissons tous – si vis
pacem, para bellum -, il est urgent que la France clarifie sa position
et reaffirme sa volonte de voir regler la situation de milliers de
refugies et de personnes deplacees qui attendent dans des conditions
souvent dramatiques de rentrer chez eux dans le Haut-Karabagh.

Quelles mesures la France compte-t-elle prendre pour que les accords
a venir entre l’Armenie et la Turquie ne negligent pas les interets
legitimes de l’Azerbaïdjan, et quelles initiatives entend-elle engager
pour favoriser le retour des refugies et des personnes deplacees du
Haut-Karabagh ? ”

Source : senat.fr

Nathalie Goulet est senateur de l’Orne (Union centriste), membre de la
commissson des affaires etrangeres du Senat, du groupe France-Palestine
et vice-presidente du groupe France-Pays du Golf.

Le 17 mars 2010, elle a pris la parole en Azerbaïdjan lors d’une
conference a l’invitation du Centre de Recherches strategiques auprès
du president azerbaïdjanais.

Fin novembre 2009, a la suite de la votation suisse interdisant la
construction de Minarets, la senatrice avait declare : “J’espère
que les ressortissants des pays du Golfe en tireront toutes les
consequences et retireront leurs avoirs des banques suisses”.

From: A. Papazian

L’EGLISE APOSTOLIQUE ARMENIENNE POURSUIT EN JUSTICE LE MUSEE JEAN PAUL GETTY
Stephane

armenews
vendredi18 juin 2010
USA

L’Eglise Apostolique Armenienne poursuit en justice le musee de Jean
Paul Getty exigeant le retour de sept pages dechirees d’une Bible
sacree armenienne datant de 1256.

La Prelature Occidentale de l’Eglise Apostolique Armenienne d’Amerique
a depose plainte mardi a Los Angeles. Les pièces de la plainte
alleguent que l’eglise a fait authentifier la Bible en 1947 ou 1948
et qu’elle a ete rendu avec des pages manquantes. La plainte declare
que l’identite du voleur n’a jamais ete determinee.

Un porte-parole du musee Getty a dit que le musee a legalement acquis
les pages, que l’on connaît comme les Tables du Canon, en 1994 d’un
collectionneur anonyme prive ” après un examen approfondi de leur
provenance “.

” Un savant notable armenien qui etait aussi le primat de l’Eglise
armenienne d’Amerique a reconnu les details clefs de la provenance
des Tables de Canon dans un article en 1943, incluant le fait qu’ils
appartenaient a une famille armenienne aux Etats-Unis ” a declare la
porte-parole Julie Jaskol.

Les sept pages illustrees par T’oros Roslin sont une partie de la
Bible armenienne ecrite a la main connue comme les evangiles de ”
Zeyt’un “. Le Reste de la bible se trouve au Musee du Madenataran
Erevan en Armenie.

La plainte de l’eglise affirme que les pages manquantes sont devenues
la partie d’une collection privee d’une famille de Watertown. Elles
ont ete pretees a la librairie Morgan Pierpont, connu maintenant comme
la librairie et musee Morgan de New-York en 1994 pour une exposition.

Michel Bazyler, un professeur de droit de l’Universite Chapman et
membre de l’equipe legale du plaignant, a declare que l’espoir des
avocats est que les pages puissent etre rendues par la negociation
plutôt que la confrontation.

” Nous affirmons que ces sept pages sont une propriete volee et qu’ils
ne pourront jamais obtenir de titre ” a dit Bazyler. ” Nous demandons
le retour des sept pages a l’eglise “.

L’avocat principal du plaignant, Vartkes Yeghiayan – qui represente
souvent les victimes du Genocide armenien – faisait des recherches
sur les atrocites quand en 2007 il a decouvert que le Musee Getty
conservait ces pages. Il demande des dommages et interets d’un montant
de 105 millions de dollars.

Jaskol, la porte-parole du musee Getty, a dit que la propriete des
pages n’a jamais ete mise en doute jusqu’a present et que ” le Getty
croit que la plainte est sans fondement et doit etre ecartee “.

Bazyler croit que c’est le premier dossier aux Etats-Unis pour le
retour d’objets culturels ou religieux pris du temps de la Première
guerre mondiale.

” C’est une question d’identite historique et de conservation de la
culture armenienne ” a declare un membre du conseil de la Prelature
Occidental Levon Kirakosian. ” Il est important que chacun le comprenne
“. ” Nous nous attendons a ce que le Getty fasse le juste choix ”
a conclu Levon Kirakosian

From: A. Papazian

WILSON CENTER’S AWARD TO DAVUTOGLU

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Josh Rogin details the back-and-forth relating to the congressionally
funded Woodrow Wilson Center’s award to Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu, including the ire of congressmen unsure about why the
Wilson Center’s head would choose to honor Davutoglu, given Turkey’s
recent support for the Iranian nuclear program and Hamas. The Wilson
Center notes, however, that the honoree was selected in August 2009.

What they don’t mention is that, as Prime Minister Erdogan’s chief
foreign-policy adviser even prior to assuming his current ministerial
rank, Davutoglu has been embracing not only Hamas but its most militant
and terror-bloodied faction since February 2006. He has also played
a role in Turkey’s embrace of blood libel.

The Wilson Center said in an e-mailed statement that the award is part
of its fund-raising effort. This is itself problematic. As the Turkish
daily Cumhuriyet has pointed out, the AKP and the Islamist cult leader
Fethulleh Gulen have both become more prolific in funding overseas
think-tanks (Cumhuriyet singled out Brookings). If the Islamist money
is flowing, does the Wilson Center hope that, by showering praise on
a controversial supporter of Hamas, it can get a cut of that as well?

Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Wilson Center Honors Turkey, Part II [Michael Rubin]

The Armenian Weekly looks into the Woodrow Wilson Center’s award and
finds that a lobbyist for Turkey sits on its board (h/t Martin Kramer):

DLA Piper is a gigantic, worldwide legal and corporate services firm
that has registered with the U.S. government as a foreign agent for
Turkey. The firm is well-known for having lobbied against Armenian
Americans and is currently setting up an office in Istanbul.

Ignacio Sanchez is a lawyer employed by DLA Piper. He “represents
national and international clients on a broad range of issues…before
Congress” for his firm.

Sanchez also happens to sit on the Wilson Center’s Board of Trustees.

Given the Wilson Center’s receipt of public funding, director Lee
Hamilton should certainly explain in detail the process by which the
Wilson Center settled on Ahmet Davutoglu, a Hamas cheerleader, crude
anti-Semite, and pro-Islamic Republic activist, as the recipient of
its award. He might detail who served on the committee and whether
anyone recused themselves.

At the very least, while the Wilson Center makes a mockery of itself,
we should be glad that no registered agents of Syria sit on its board,
as it would be only slightly more inconvenient for Lee Hamilton to
defend an honor to Bashar al-Assad, who, after all, is not only a
leader of an important regional state, but also a Western-educated
eye doctor.

From: A. Papazian

WILSON CENTER HONORS TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER WITH “PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD”
Josh Rogin

Wednesday, June 16, 2010 – 5:11 PM

The U.S. taxpayer-funded Woodrow Wilson International Center for
Scholars, led by former Congressman Lee Hamilton, is giving out its
annual award for public service Thursday, and the winner is …

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu!

Davutaoglu “personifies the attributes we seek to honor at the Woodrow
Wilson Center,” Hamilton said in announcing the event, adding that his
“contributions have been numerous and significant.”

The Turkish foreign minister has been in the news a lot lately,
such as when he said the Israeli incident aboard the Gaza flotilla
“is like 9/11 for Turkey.”

He was also a key figure in the Brazilian-Turkish drive to head off
new U.N. sanctions on Iran by striking an 11th-hour fuel-swap deal,
an agreement the Obama administration has dismissed as inadequate
and unhelpful.

House Foreign Affairs Middle East subcommittee chairman Gary Ackerman,
D-NY, wrote to Hamilton Wednesday to express his “deep concern and
dismay” over the award to Davutoglu.

“Turkey’s foreign policy under Foreign Minister Davutoglu’s leadership
is rife with illegality, irresponsibility and hypocrisy,” he wrote,
citing Turkey’s denial of the Armenian genocide, its occupation of
northern Cyprus, Turkey’s vote against new Iran sanctions, and what
Ackerman described as the ongoing “demonizing” of Israel as exhibited
during the flotilla crisis.

“A foreign leader who represents and defends this kind of foreign
policy, one who has championed Turkey’s most odious efforts to deny
to others the human dignity that Turkey rightly expects for its own
people, is not a worthy recipient of the WWC Public Service Award,”
Ackerman wrote.

The center was created in 1968 by an act of Congress as a
private/public partnership, and U.S. taxpayers contribute about a
third of the center’s annual revenue.

Many lawmakers are fed up with what they see as Turkey’s unhelpful
actions in the international arena.

“There will be a cost if Turkey stays on its present heading of growing
closer to Iran and more antagonistic to the state of Israel,” Rep. Mike
Pence, R-IN, told a news conference Wednesday. “It will bear upon my
view and I believe the view of many members of Congress on the state
of the relationship with Turkey.”

Rep. Eliot Engel, D-NY, called recent actions by Turkey “disgraceful.”

In an emailed statement, the Wilson Center explained, “Awardees are
selected based on a collective body of their lifelong career and
achievements … Awardees are not chosen for their political views …

and we do not endorse the views of Woodrow Wilson Awardees on specific
issues.”

The statement also said that the event was a fundraising event and
that Congress has been pushing the center to find more private sources
of funding. “These Awards Dinners have been critical for helping to
raise some of the funding the Wilson Center needs,” the statement said.

“Mr. Davutoglu has had a diverse career as a scholar, a professor,
a political scientist, an author, a civil servant, an international
diplomat, and currently as Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs… He
also fits the Wilsonian mold of being both a scholar and a
policymaker,” the statement reads, noting that Davtoglu was invited
to accept the award in August 2009.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA’S FIRST STEM CELL HARVESTING COMPLETED BY ABMDR

Asbarez
Thursday, June 17th, 2010

LOS ANGELES-The Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry announced that for
the first time in Armenia’s medical history a stem cell harvesting
procedure was performed successfully in Yerevan Thursday by the
Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry.

In an email message ABMDR president Dr. Frieda Jordan reported that
the donor, a member of the Armenian community of Iran, flew to Yerevan
for the procedure, which she said was very successful. The stem cells
were transported to Belgium for a transplant procedure scheduled
for Friday. Jordan said the donor was well enough to return to his
family Friday.

“Our sincere congratulations and thanks to Dr. Sevak Avagyan, Dr.
Mihran Nazaretyan and all our staff in Yerevan . They have been
amazing!,” said Jordan. “We opened our harvesting center last year
in April and now we are seeing the fruits of our labor. Well done!”

Asbarez will have more on this breaking story.

From: A. Papazian

MATH KANGAROO 2010 WINNERS AWARDED WITH BULGARIA TOUR

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 17, 2010 – 20:58 AMT 15:58 GMT

Math Kangaroo 2010 school students’ competition winners were announced
at RA Education and Science Ministry on June 17.

Contest winners, Yerevan’s physicomathematical school student, Edgar
Minasyan and Vanashen secondary school student, Abraham Grigoryan
were awarded with a tour to Bulgaria.

This year, Math Kangaroo, held for the first time in Artsakh, hosted
215 students from 13 NKR schools.

Participants of mathematical contest, organized by Ayb educational
fund, were awarded certificates and souvenirs.

Math Kangaroo is an International Competition in Mathematics, making
effort to encourage students to master their mathematical knowledge,
give them confidence in their ability for comprehending mathematics,
help them understand how mathematics applies in nature’s laws and human
activities, develop their ability to derive pleasure and satisfaction
through intellectual life and show that mathematical education is
significant in every part of the world. Math Kangaroo 2010 in Armenia,
held on March 18, hosted 40 000 school students.

From: A. Papazian

SULTAN ABDUL HAMID’S HEIRS DEMAND CONFISCATED DYNASTIC PROPERTIES

Asbarez Staff
Thursday, June 17th, 2010

Orhan Osmanoglu shows the documents he owns about the property that
belonged to Sultan Abdul Hamid.

ISTANBUL (HURRIYET)-The heirs of Sultan Abdul Hamid II, the last
Ottoman sultan to rule with absolute power, have filed a complaint
for damages amounting up to $18 billion regarding 4,200 properties
that were once owned by Ottoman dynasty members and later seized by
the state.

Known as the bloody sultan, Abdul Hamid was responsible for massacring
300,000 Armenians between 1894-96.

The first hearing of the case was held last week, and the second
hearing is scheduled for Sept. 30. Scattered around the world, the
members of the family will reportedly reunite in Istanbul to attend
the hearing.

The 48 plaintiffs are even planning to carry the case to the European
Court of Human Rights if they lose.

Orhan Osmanoglu, one of the plaintiffs and a third generation grandson
of Abdul Hamid, defined the case as the “lawsuit of the century,”
adding that, “If we win the case, then we are ready to settle for a
reasonable amount.”

“We do not demand the palaces. We just want the property bought by
our grandfather with his own money,” Osmanoglu, speaking on behalf of
the plaintiffs, said in an interview with the Hurriyet Daily News
& Economic Review. “Abdul Hamid’s personal assets have not been
transferred to the state treasury yet.”

However, the demand has already raised some eyebrows in the country.

The Topkapi Palace Museum manager Ilber Ortayli, who is renowned for
his research on the Ottoman dynasty, said it was a strange situation.

“I am trying to figure out what they are trying to do despite my
amazement,” he said. “I can’t say I have been successful yet.”

Lawyer Deniz Ketenci, on the other hand, said the first thing to
do should be to check the land registry documents. “Also there is a
further complication in that the claims are coming from grandsons of
grandsons, namely, there are a few generations in between,” he said.

“Therefore, I do not think my commentary on the lawsuit could be
sound now. We had better see the process.”

If the case is won, part of the indemnity will be distributed among
the heirs, and the rest will be transferred to the Ottoman Dynasty
Foundation, which is planned to be established in a few months.

Speaking to Hurriyet recently, Beyzade Bulent Osman, a great grandson
of Sultan Abdul Hamid II, said he was about to take legal action
for oil reserves in Mosul. Commenting on that, Osmanoglu said his
enterprise would end up at nothing, just like a similar case in the
1940s. “Mosul aside, we also have personal assets in Greece and Egypt,
but we first want our assets in Turkey back,” he said.

Adding that his attorneys conducted research into the state archives
before the lawsuit, Osmanoglu said he had acquired 16 land registry
documents. “We do not need to present a land registry document. The
General Directorate of the National Estate already knows what used to
be ours. There is a lot of profit involved in this business. If we win
the case, we will not reclaim the lands owned by the military or the
state, but we will protect our rights about the rest until the end.”

After their exile, the Ottoman family members were scattered across
the world, and most of them had extreme economic hardships, said
Osmanoglu, adding that their financial exile still continued. “The
government has launched initiatives one after another. They could as
well make an Ottoman Initiative. But we do not want much. We just want
our rights protected. There is still a huge bias against the Ottomans.”

The women members of the dynasty scattered to metropolises like Paris,
London and New York and were repatriated by virtue of a law passed in
1952 during the Adnan Menderes government. The men, on the other hand,
could only be granted the same rights in 1974 by the general amnesty
law passed during Bulent Ecevit’s Prime Ministry. Osmanoglu said he
came back from Syria with his family after the law passed in 1974,
adding that he could not use his citizenship rights for 10 years.

“My childhood in Syria was tough, both economically and in terms
of morale,” said Osmanoglu. “In addition to economic hardships, our
teachers always would attack me, saying ‘You invaded our country.’
There was a huge hatred against the Ottomans. My education life
included many overwhelming struggles.”

From: A. Papazian

CENTRAL BANK: ONE-PERCENT INFLATION IN ARMENIA IN MAY, COMPARED WITH APRIL

/ARKA/
June 17, 2010
YEREVAN

One-percent inflation was reported in Armenia in May, compared with
April, the board of the Central bank of Armenia says.

As a result, the 12-month inflation rate lowered by 0.5 percentage
points in May, compared with the previous month, to 6.3%.

The board also placed on record that food prices rose 1.8% adding
1.0 percentage points to inflation and nonfood prices climbed 0.9%
driving inflation rate 0.15 points up, while services became 0.2%
cheaper (0.1 points).

Decrease in prices for services was mainly due to fall in air fares.

Prices for confectionery, meat products, shoes, clothes and textile
rose as well adding 0.2 percentage points to inflation.

Instead, prices for eggs and sugar went down curbing inflation.

According to National Statistical Service of Armenia, the country
faced 7.6% inflation in Jan-May 2010, compared with the same period
of the previous year.

One-percent inflation was recorded in Armenia in May, compared
with April.

Consumer price index was 105.3% in May 2010, compared with December
2009.

In the 2010 state budget, the annual inflation is planned at 4%
(±1.5%).

From: A. Papazian

CENTRAL BANK: INFLATION IN ARMENIA KEEPS SLOWING DOWN

/ARKA/
June 17, 2010
YEREVAN

Inflation in Armenia keeps slowing down, the board of the Central
Bank of Armenia reports.

The board placed it on record that under the monetary policy tightening
that started at the beginning of this year, the 12-month inflation
is slowing down faster than expected.

“Despite risks of inflation environment still remain, inflation will
slow down thanks to outside factors,” the central bank’s board says.

According to National Statistical Service of Armenia, the country
faced 7.6% inflation in Jan-May 2010, compared with the same period
of the previous year.

One-percent inflation was recorded in Armenia in May, compared
with April.

Consumer price index was 105.3% in May 2010, compared with December
2009.

In the 2010 state budget, the annual inflation is planned at 4%
(±1.5%).

From: A. Papazian

KARABAKH ELECTIONS EXEMPLARY FOR MANY COUNTRIES

PanARMENIAN.Net
June 17, 2010 – 15:49 AMT 10:49 GMT

The recent parliamentary election in Nagorno Karabakh proved that
irrespective of the negotiation process, the republic lives its own
life, said Karen Bekaryan, chairman of European Integration NGO.

“Despite various statements and assessments, the election was organized
properly and could serve as example for many countries,” he said.

From: A. Papazian